The book in your hands is a subtle attempt to research a piece of the vast lands of aesthetics, philosophy, art and literature at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. This period is remarkable for the evolution of the Symbolism which was able to stretch through all the art disciplines and cross the borders of countries spreading its ideas through the intellectual world. The author of the book focuses on parallels resonating in Czech and Russian literature of the particular period. The chapters devoted to the most significant literary and philosophical brains of this period will lead the readers through the evolution in perception of Beauty, they will explain the principles of “theurgy” and show the way culture, and mainly the literature develops as a cross-border phenomena. After browsing the text, you might be able to perceive art as a key factor influencing human thinking.